Ever Immortal
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: ****RIP Sally and a much loved character returns. Rated for slight graphic detail and major character death. Very tragic and angsty
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

Sally shivered.

Tears of fear and remorse still soaking her increasingly pale cheeks as shock mercifully numbed most of the pain which was now stemming from Rocco's blade's point of entry.

She could feel the warm flow of blood gradually pooling beneath her as fear took hold, and the thought of what had just happened plagued her as she kept one clammy hand pressed tightly against the painful open wound in her lower abdomen.

He had stabbed her… she hadn't ever considered him capable of such an act, even after all the things people had said, the terrible things which she knew he had already done, and that now stained his character in the name of the gang which he had once relied upon so desperately. He had carried out the callous deed with trust to his name and left her for dead – but still Sally's tears kept on falling.

The cold tarmac beneath her burning cheek brought only false comfort as her heavy eyelids began to close and her vision swam – but despite of her delirium in that instant she thought she heard the sound of heavy footsteps approaching from behind, causing her to freeze instinctively as she contemplated her options…

…had Rocco returned? Had he come back to help her, his conscience finally prompting him to do the right thing? Or did he intend to finish the job? She struggled to put anything past him now.

"Sal?"

The voice was familiar, its tone warm and comforting, encouraging Sally to turn – surprisingly pain free – to look up into the eyes of the man now standing before her.

"Flynn…" She whispered disbelievingly.

"It's me." He smiled.

Sally looked around hesitantly but the breezy high school parking lot remained silent and deserted.

"I've… I've missed you." She faltered.

"I know." He sighed, stooping affectionately down beside her as he carefully replaced the hold which she still had over the profusely bleeding wound with his own somewhat broader male hand. "I've missed you to."

"But what does this mean?" Sally asked with tears still in her eyes as Flynn embraced her. The delicate creases of her soft brow furrowing as at last she let her eyelids fall fully shut against the world, beginning to relax and find comfort in the arms of the only man she had ever truly loved, the only man who had ever made her feel that love in return… until Brad.

Flynn smiled knowingly, seeming to read her mind as she looked up searchingly into his eyes.

"Yes…" He finally responded softly, allowing for the time required to let her shock disperse and the grave reality of her situation to sink in. After Flynn's death neither of them had expected to be seeing each other again for a very long time, and now their untimely reunion could only mean one thing for Sally. "He did love you… but you have to let go now Sal." He explained, gently removing his hand from the gaping wound to reveal new flesh forming at an unnatural rate over the deep slit in her pale flesh, the blood finally ceasing to flow. "Its over." He whispered.

Sally's heart suddenly leapt and a cold shiver ran down her spine with regret and the grief which came with the realization of what she must now say goodbye to. Either way she couldn't win… she had Flynn back; her soul mate, the man she had once waited her entire lifetime for and given everything of herself to from the day they had first met…

She'd prayed for this day, longed to wake up again every morning to the sight of his beautiful, smiling face starring back at her, instead of an empty pillow. God had granted her her greatest wish… but only with the loss of her children.

"But what about Pippa?" She asked. "What about Cassie and Ric?"

"We'll always make sure that they're taken care of." Flynn reassured her.

"But I can't leave them." She sobbed.

"You never will. No matter what happens they'll never forget you, you'll always be part of their lives and they'll always be part of you. The one's we love never truly leave us. I may have been gone from your lives, but I assure you that I've always been there. This is not the end Sal."

Suddenly the sound of frantic feet over concrete and sticky tarmac met with her ears and as she turned abruptly it was to see Bard running towards her. Her heart went out to him.

"SALLY!" He called to her, "SALLY!"… but she knew that any hope of response was beyond her now – she couldn't let him know that everything was going to be alright.

"It's time." Flynn explained, taking his young wife's hand tenderly in his own as he wrapped his arms warmly around her shoulders, and for the first time in what had literally been moments since the whole fateful situation had begun to unfold Sally finally felt at peace.

"I'm sorry Bad." She whispered, bending down to peck him silently on the cheek as his body convulsed, wracked with sobs as he struggled to rid himself of the bitter tears he shed, embracing Sally's motionless body.

"Please don't do this Sal… come back… don't leave me." He begged, but Sally knew that she could not, and she could offer him no comfort as she got to her feet and walked with hand in hand Flynn, until she could feel her pain no more.

Looking back one last time she saw Brad still cradling her lifeless form, his sobbing and grief stricken figure the last thing she saw before everything finally went black…

Flynn was right, he had loved her, and he would help to make sure that Pippa, and Cassie and Ric were alright… and of course there was always her mother. It would be tough on them all for a long time yet, but she knew deep in her heart that they were all going to be alright…

And finally Sally was at peace.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

A week later Brad stood at the front of the small church, starring down at the coffin of the woman he'd loved. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot with the tears of grief he'd shed every day since the evening he'd been forced to say goodbye, and as Rachel approached him cautiously – observing his hollow expression – she enwrapped her brother in a warm and comforting embrace. It broke her heart to feel the miserable upheavals of his ribcage against her breast, as he cried into her warm shoulder, her own salty tears mingling with his as she gripped him tighter and held his body against hers.

She herself had already cried so much over the past few days for the loss of a good friend, a good woman – but in that moment she shed her tears for the dejected form of her older brother lying broken in her arms. He had had to watch as the two most precious women in his life had died so tragically in his arms, barely a few months apart from each other, and she didn't know how much more one man could possibly endure.

The funeral had only meant to be a private affair – a small gathering of some of her closest friends and family, a chance to say goodbye… and so naturally the whole town had turned out, such was Sally's legacy.

Each had spoken their own moving tribute, if not before the pulpit in the presence of the entire town then in the privacy of their own homes. The farewell had been a simple one, yet heartfelt and genuine as had been her short life. So much so that as the gathering finally came to an end nobody had anything left to say.

'_Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there, I did not die.'_ – Brad found this statement almost too hard to believe as he stood over Sally's grave over an hour later, little Pippa clutched tightly within his strong arms. Cassie had read the same heartfelt poem at Flynn's funeral just over a year ago, and it had seemed only fitting to give them both the same touching send off.

Now though he could only contemplate what could have been as he starred down at Sally's gravestone emptily, loyally placed next to Flynn's, both buried in the same sacred spot:

_**Sally Fletcher,**_

_**Loving wife, mother, friend,**_

_**Devoted teacher,**_

_**Admired and respected by all those who knew her.**_

_**Her presence shall be greatly missed from our lives.**_

_**May she rest in peace.**_

_**And join with Flynn together forever wherever they both may well be.**_

Death, which had once separated them, had now reunited them both – there was a strange irony in that Brad now thought sadly to himself.

Her heart had never truly been his, just as he had never fully given her his own – he realised that now. Their romance had been a fleeting one, a brief encounter in life's ever revolving cycle – but they had come into each other's lives at a time when each had needed something from the other; Sally subconsciously revelling in the male companionship she had once thought lost to her forever as she'd comforted Brad after Emily's death, and he too seeking anchorage in the love of such a good woman.

Brad now resolved to do the same for all three of Sally and Flynn's children as he looked down at Pippa, still cradled within his arms, and across at Cassie and Ric as they cradled each other.

Eventually the time would come for Brad to move on again towards a new life and a fresh start. It would be just too painful for him to stay here forever – but he couldn't even contemplate that now, for he knew that he was still needed, and he forced himself to put his own feelings aside and to start as he meant to go on, comforting Sally's three grieving children.

… And that at least for the moment was enough for him to live for.

**END!**


End file.
